Survey: Half of Chinese users want to own a Galaxy S4 instead of an iPhone

As we've reported quite a bit, Apple has been working hard to try and grow its influence in China. That nation has become the world's largest smartphone market, and so Apple has plenty of reason to be promoting itself and selling as many phones as possible. A new survey shows that as much work as Apple has been doing in the region, it may be behind already. According to research from Trendforce, almost 60 percent of 5,000 Chinese smartphone users polled say they would rather buy the newest Samsung Galaxy S4 than Apple's latest iPhone.

This doesn't mean there isn't a market for Apple product in China. In fact, the same survey found that 52 percent of users did want to own an iPhone, which is very good news for Apple (the company currently holds an almost 10 percent market share there, so it seems destined for more). Still, Apple has far from an iron grip on the region.

If Apple does release a cheaper iPhone this year, most analysts say that would help them make a bigger dent in the Chinese market. Given how deep Samsung's roots and influence go in China, it's still going to be a tough battle for Apple to get the market share it wants.